The 10 most-sentenced crimes in Connecticut federal court

Data Editor

The most common federal sentences in Connecticut are for drug-related crimes, which we covered last week; they account for about 46 percent of federal sentences in Connecticut.

But some readers were curious what crimes accounted for the other 54 percent.

Well, according to TrendCT analysis, the most common are for fraud, firearms-related crimes and immigration-related crimes.

Federal sentencing in Connecticut for 2014

For crimes that made up more than 2 percent of total sentencing

Crime

Percent

Drugs-Trafficking

45.40%

Fraud

21.10%

Firearms

9.60%

Immigration

2.50%

Racketering/Extortion

2.30%

United States Sentencing Commission

In 2014, more than 29 percent of sentences in U.S. federal courts were for immigration-related crimes, making it the most common cause for federal sentences. But in Connecticut, immigration-related crimes only accounted for 2.5 percent of all federal sentences — fourth-highest on the list.

In Connecticut, racketeering and extortion were much more common in 2014. Nationwide, pornography, prostitution and “other miscellaneous” crimes surpassed the 2 percent threshold, but not in Connecticut.

Federal sentencing across the United States for 2014

For crimes that made up more than 2 percent of total sentencing

Crime

Percent

Immigration

29.30%

Drugs-Trafficking

28.10%

Firearms

10.50%

Fraud

10%

Drugs-Simple Possession

3.10%

Other Miscellaneous

3%

Pornography, prostitution

2.50%

United States Sentencing Commission

In the previous post we looked at the substances that account for the largest number of drug sentences in Connecticut. Crack cocaine was at the top of the list; marijuana was near the bottom.

The data suggests Connecticut federal courts have prioritized drug-trafficking, as sentencing rates, per capita, has grown steadily since 1995. But nationwide, the rate for drug-trafficking sentences has declined after peaking in 2002.

The chart below shows the rate of federal sentencing nationally for the top 10 crimes since 1995.

Some observations:

Though immigration sentencing rates have increased since 1995, it’s lower today than in 2011, when it peaked.

Firearms-related sentencing has a similar trend, peaking in 2005.

Larceny and robbery sentences have dropped since 1995.

Pornography and prostitution sentencing rates have gone up nationally since 1995 but leveled off after 2010.

The table below is a list of crimes sentenced in federal courts, giving the U.S. and Connecticut totals.

Andrew is a data editor at TrendCT.org and the Connecticut Mirror. He teaches data visualization at Central Connecticut State University as well intro to data journalism at Wesleyan University as a Koeppel Fellow.
He was a founding producer of The Boston Globe's Data Desk where he used a variety of methods to visualize or tell stories with data. Andrew also was an online producer at The Virginian-Pilot and a staff writer at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He’s a Metpro Fellow, a Chips Quinn Scholar, and a graduate of the University of Texas.